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Caterpillars Are Friends

After all the complaining about ticks, I probably should try to show that I am a friend to most creepy-crawlies. So, allow me to introduce to the newest members of our family….five Painted-Lady Butterfly caterpillars.

 

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Nicholas received these little critters for his birthday from our very good friends Kim & Brad, and their three awesome kiddos.  (Kim used to teach preschool…can you tell?). They came as part of a Live Butterfly Garden and Hatching Kit. We ordered our caterpillars online (anyone interested? Check out www.insectlore.com), and within three days our caterpillars were delivered to our front porch (I wonder what the postman thought of that? Hope he doesn’t mind larvae!). The boys and I followed the directions in the box, which pretty much amounted to leaving the hungry little bugs alone, (Nicholas needs frequent reminders. He likes to turn the jar upside-down. Can caterpillars have heart attacks?), and in a few more days we should have five little chrysalides. We’ll then move our guests to their hatchery, and wait for the magic to happen. Coolest gift ever! The teacher in my heart is singing.

P5160011Ben introduces his ABC Caterpillar to her five siblings.

The boys have been having fun watching their buggies grow, a real-live version of the Very Hungry Caterpillar (and wow! Do these eating-machines ever grow!!). Ben even named each caterpillar (which I had to write down so that my mommy-brain could remember all the names). They were christened: Cornsyrup, Sockey, Little Caterpillar Frou-Frou (he had heard the song Little Bunny Frou-Frou that morning), Blue, and Red. Love the way the four-year-old brain thinks things up. And we’ve had some neat conversations about metamorphosis. One of them went something like this:

Me: Ben, did you know the caterpillars will go through a metamorphosis to turn into butterflies? What do you think metamorphosis means?

Ben: A big change (thank you Sesame Street!)

Me: What sort of animals go through a metamorphosis?

Ben: A frog (another thanks to Sesame Street.)

Me: What was a frog before it changed?

Nicholas: A princess!!

Auntie Jenn, she of the bug-jug, thought this was a pretty great gift too. I heard all about how many butterfly species were being decimated around the world, and that the hatchery was a wonderful way of helping to preserve the butterfly. Can you guess which sister got all the science-brains in our family?

Will Cornsyrup, Sockey, Frou-Frou, Blue, and Red metamorphose? Stay tuned!!

xo Naomi

Comments

  1. Sydney DaveyMay 21, 2012 at 8:52 PM

    Naomi this is a very exciting experiment for your boys!
    I helped do this with my grade one students three years ago and they loved it. To this day I still have students come up to me asking: Mme. Kim remember when we watched the caterpillars turn into butterflies and then fly away?
    Enjoy every moment!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. reeseMay 21, 2012 at 11:38 PM

    JJ did this too at school. I love the flutterby part..... we have had so new ones show up this year!! wonder where they came from?

    ReplyDelete
  3. NaomiMay 23, 2012 at 8:45 AM

    So fun!! The boys are liking it, Pierre is a little creeped-out, and I am so ready for them to turn into butterflies. Three of the five are hidden inside their chrysalises!

    ReplyDelete

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